15 'dos' and 'do nots' for the next 'Star Wars' trilogy

By By NICK EATON

on October 30, 2012 5:58 PM

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

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Along with Tuesday's announcement that Disney has bought Lucasfilm came the announcement that there will be a new "Star Wars" movie in 2015. Disney said it will produce "Star Wars" Episodes 7, 8 and 9, with additional movies being released every two or three years -- somewhat like the never-ending "James Bond" franchise.

Many "Star Wars" fans are rejoicing at the news. However, after the perceived failure (not monetarily, mind you) of the "Star Wars" prequels, many fans have a bad feeling about this -- they don't want anyone else messing with their beloved "Star Wars" galaxy. Again.

Since there are so many ways the new "Star Wars" trilogy could go well and so many ways it could go bad, we created a list of 15 "dos" and "do nots" for Disney to ... well, to at least consider. As Yoda famously said: "Do, or do not. There is no try."

Along with Tuesday's announcement that Disney has bought Lucasfilm came the announcement that there will be a new "Star Wars" movie in 2015. Disney said it will produce "Star Wars" Episodes 7, 8 and 9, with ... more

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DO bring back Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams. However, they don't necessarily have to reprise their old roles as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian -- they could just make cameos. Or, perhaps, they could appear to "pass the torch," if you will, to the next cast. I mean, c'mon, they're getting too old for this sort of thing.

DO bring back Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams. However, they don't necessarily have to reprise their old roles as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian -- ... more

DO NOT bring back Jar Jar Binks or any other horribly annoying characters from the movies. I'm looking at you, Sy Snootles.

DO NOT bring back Jar Jar Binks or any other horribly annoying characters from the movies. I'm looking at you, Sy Snootles.

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DO give "Star Wars" the same treatment Disney gave Marvel Comics. The Disney-Marvel movies have generally been great, have mostly stayed true to the original comic stories, and have had smashing success at the box office.

DO give "Star Wars" the same treatment Disney gave Marvel Comics. The Disney-Marvel movies have generally been great, have mostly stayed true to the original comic stories, and have had smashing success at the ... more

DO hand the directing reins over to someone like Joss Whedon (pictured), the "Buffy" and "Firefly" creator -- and hero of the nerds -- who directed this summer's "Avengers." Other good options might be J.J. Abrams or Christopher Nolan, though Disney should be careful to not take "Star Wars" too far in that direction.

DO hand the directing reins over to someone like Joss Whedon (pictured), the "Buffy" and "Firefly" creator -- and hero of the nerds -- who directed this summer's "Avengers." Other good options might be J.J. ... more

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DO NOT bring back the Ewoks. Perhaps that was implied in the Jar Jar Binks slide, but we just wanted to make sure.

DO NOT bring back the Ewoks. Perhaps that was implied in the Jar Jar Binks slide, but we just wanted to make sure.

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DO set the movies after the events of 1983's "Return of the Jedi," as planned. We've had our fair share of prequels.

DO set the movies after the events of 1983's "Return of the Jedi," as planned. We've had our fair share of prequels.

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DO NOT let George Lucas direct any of the new movies. Sorry, George, all of us "Star Wars" geeks love you -- you created the whole thing, after all -- but you really stunk up those prequels. Give some creative advice, but don't try to dictate the entire movie yourself. You need someone who can tell you "no."

DO NOT let George Lucas direct any of the new movies. Sorry, George, all of us "Star Wars" geeks love you -- you created the whole thing, after all -- but you really stunk up those prequels. Give some creative ... more

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DO at least draw some ideas from the hundreds of "expanded universe" books. The Thrawn trilogy (pictured), written by Timothy Zahn, follows the aftermath of the destruction of the Imperial Empire, for example. Many "Star Wars" fans would love to see some of the books hit the silver screen.

DO at least draw some ideas from the hundreds of "expanded universe" books. The Thrawn trilogy (pictured), written by Timothy Zahn, follows the aftermath of the destruction of the Imperial Empire, for example. ... more

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DO NOT make any of these new movies animated. Real "Star Wars" movies are live-action. That "Clone Wars" animated series (Yoda pictured) was kinda fun, but it just wasn't the same.

DO NOT make any of these new movies animated. Real "Star Wars" movies are live-action. That "Clone Wars" animated series (Yoda pictured) was kinda fun, but it just wasn't the same.

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DO have John Williams write the score. Disney should get him into a recording studio right now, if it has to. Williams, sadly, is getting pretty old -- he's 80, and while presumably in fine health, won't live forever. His music is integral to the "Star Wars" galaxy.

DO have John Williams write the score. Disney should get him into a recording studio right now, if it has to. Williams, sadly, is getting pretty old -- he's 80, and while presumably in fine health, won't live ... more

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DO NOT go over the top on computer-generated graphics. Sure, a lot of the visuals in the prequels were cool, but everything was just so ... fake. Especially the CGI Yoda. Stick to puppets (Yoda pictured) and only use CGI to augment reality tastefully.

DO NOT go over the top on computer-generated graphics. Sure, a lot of the visuals in the prequels were cool, but everything was just so ... fake. Especially the CGI Yoda. Stick to puppets (Yoda pictured) and ... more

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DO bring back Luke Skywalker as some sort of old, wise Jedi master. Actor Mark Hamill (pictured) may not be aging well (he's 61), and he may not be Alec Guinness, but seeing a bad-ass old Luke would be awesome.

DO bring back Luke Skywalker as some sort of old, wise Jedi master. Actor Mark Hamill (pictured) may not be aging well (he's 61), and he may not be Alec Guinness, but seeing a bad-ass old Luke would be awesome.

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DO NOT remove the 20th Century Fox logo and music from the beginning. Disney at least shouldn't remove them when it re-releases the movies on DVD and Blu-ray (which you know it will). The logo and music, for many fans, are forever connected to the "Star Wars" films. It would be tough to see Sleeping Beauty's castle replace the old Fox intro.

DO NOT remove the 20th Century Fox logo and music from the beginning. Disney at least shouldn't remove them when it re-releases the movies on DVD and Blu-ray (which you know it will). The logo and music, for ... more

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DO let the new "Star Wars" franchise -- as they say in the biz -- "grow a beard." It may be blasphemous to use a "Star Trek" reference here, but hear us out. Opposite of the term "jumping the shark," the term "growing a beard" refers to the moment a TV or movie series comes into its own. It's named after the character of Cmdr. William Riker (pictured) in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," whose growing a beard coincided with the TV series' marked improvement in the second season. After the prequels, Disney needs to let the "Star Wars" franchise re-grow its metaphorical beard.

DO let the new "Star Wars" franchise -- as they say in the biz -- "grow a beard." It may be blasphemous to use a "Star Trek" reference here, but hear us out. Opposite of the term "jumping the shark," the term ... more

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